- Massachusetts Development Finance Agency
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The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (MassDevelopment) was created in 1998 under Chapter 23G of the Massachusetts General Laws,[1] which merged the Massachusetts Government Land Bank with the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency. Effective October 1, 2010, the former Massachusetts Health and Educational Finance Authority (MHEFA) merged with MassDevelopment. Both a lender and developer, MassDevelopment works with private- and public-sector clients to stimulate economic growth by eliminating blight, preparing key sites for development, creating jobs, and increasing the state’s housing supply. MassDevelopment's first president and CEO was Michael P. Hogan,[2] from 1993–2003, followed by Robert Culver from 2004-2011. Today, it is led by Marty Jones,[3] who came to the agency in 2011 after working for Boston building, development, and property management company Corcoran Jennison.
Contents
History
MDFA’s predecessor agency, MIFA was first created in 1978 to focus on industrial projects and leverage newly-created tax-exempt bond financing programs for struggling small companies and blighted downtown areas in need of redevelopment, known as[4] Commercial Area Redevelopment Districts, or CARDs. MassDevelopment has served as a model for other states’ funding programs, as the nation’s local regions have struggled first to battle the loss of manufacturing sector jobs, particularly in the Northeast and rust-belt states, transitioning more recently to programs that focus on unique regional competitive advantages in other sectors, such as the health, education and biotech sectors in the case of Massachusetts.
Municipal Bond or tax-exempt financing was made available for mixed-use commercial projects. Agencies throughout the country like MIFA were established to help the state’s cities and towns take advantage of this new, packaging up deals and selling them in the public credit markets at the lower rates.
Economic Development Projects and Investments
Headquartered in Boston,[5] with eight regional sites throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, from FY04 to FY09, MassDevelopment financed or managed more than 1,100 projects in nearly 200 communities statewide representing an investment of more than $10.6 billion in Massachusetts. These projects are supporting the creation of more than 11,000 housing units and an estimated 50,000 permanent and construction-related jobs statewide.[6] During FY2010, MassDevelopment financed or managed 238 projects in 104 communities across the state generating investment of nearly $1.4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. Projects vary in nature and size from small equipment financings[7] to the redevelopments of Devens,[8] Village Hill Northampton, 100 Cambridge Street in Boston and Springfield's 1550 Main. Recent financing projects included affordable housing units at Boston's West Fenway Apartments[9], a new middle and high school for KIPP Academy Lynn[10], and an expansion for manufacturer Ranor, Inc. in Westminster.[11]
After a long debate,[12] effective October 1, 2010, Chapter 240 of the Acts of 2010[13] merged the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority into MassDevelopment, also making MassDevelopment the sole source of tax-exempt funding for all nonprofit educational, health and cultural organizations in the state.
References
- ^ http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter23g
- ^ http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/424564901.html?FMT=ABS&date=Oct%2016,%202003
- ^ http://www.massdevelopment.com/about/executive-team/
- ^ http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=ehedterminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Community+Development&L2=Community+Planning&sid=Ehed&b=terminalcontent&f=dhcd_cd_card_card&csid=Ehed
- ^ http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Boston&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Boston,+MA&gl=us&ei=cI_WTKaHCY-t8AaU35DDDA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ8gEwAA
- ^ http://www.massdevelopment.com/about/overview/
- ^ http://www.massdevelopment.com/financing/bond-financing/value-lease/
- ^ http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/News-and-Features/Features/2011/Summer/004-Divining-Devens.aspx
- ^ http://www.boston.com/Boston/businessupdates/2011/07/west-fenway-apartments-renovated/n5HkwdRxXbaaZPXKDivjtK/index.html
- ^ http://articles.boston.com/2011-06-30/news/29722834_1_charter-school-tax-credits-lynn-project
- ^ http://www.massdevelopment.com/press-room/press/releases/westminster-firm-plans-expansion-will-add-30-jobs/
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/02/08/patrick_murray_offer_new_plans_to_boost_businesses_job_creation/?page=2
- ^ http://www.alicepeisch.org/documents/Economic%20Development%20Reorg%20Conference%20final.pdf
External links
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